


Beyond the Veil.

by BarPurple



Series: Eurydice Escapes [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Dark, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Pain, Post season 5 mid season finale, Psychological Torture, Spoilers if you've not seen that far, Torture, True Love's Kiss, Underworld, What Have I Done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-08 07:44:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5489222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the sword ran him through Killian knew exactly what his heading was now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

His vison blurred and dimmed, but he fought for his last sight of Emma. He wished she wasn’t crying. He wished he could make her smile one last time. His eyes slid closed and he breathed his last. That final exhale felt as if it went on for an eternity. That was a stunningly accurate description, all things considered.

In the black Killian heard screams of fear and pain. Unseen hands tore and pulled at his body. He was drowning and burning. Nothing made sense except the scream that tore unbidden from his own throat.

The blackness exploded into fiery light.

“Killian Jones, I’d all but given up on ever seeing you in my domain.”

The voice was cold as death and if Killian hadn’t already known where he was it would have given him a clue. Seated on one of the twin thrones was a skeletal man. The thin blue tinged skin stretched across the sinew it barely covered as the King of the Underworld extended a black taloned hand to the bowl of blood red pomegranates resting on a pedestal between the thrones. With careful deliberation Hades selected a ripe fruit and broke it open without effort. As he bit into the crimson seeds Hades fixed Killian with a chilly gaze of indifference.  
Killian swallowed hard against his dry throat and forced his face into a cocky grin. His best mask of bravado, that had served him so well for so long in place he said;

“Forgive me if I don’t bemoan the tides that kept me from your shores, mate.”

A whisper of movement behind him was the only warning he had before clawed fingers snaked into his hair and tugged his head back.

“A little respect…” “…for your new lord…” “…and master, Captain Hook!”

Three voices spoke as one. The hand in his hair gave a sharp twist and threw him forwards. He stumbled, but kept his feet until the blow to the back of his legs. He hissed in pain as he landed heavily on his knees before the dais. The flaxen haired woman on the second throne gave a tiny wince. It wasn’t much, but Killian would take any sign of sympathy he could get here.   
Hades dropped the empty fruit skin and casually adjusting his azure toga across his cadaver’s chest as he lounged against the arm of his throne.

“You cannot hide behind lies here Killian Jones. We know exactly what manner of man you truly are.”

Hades gave a languid wave of his hand and Killian was surrounded. In all his years on the high seas he’d thought he’d seen every type of beauty and of foul. The three creatures tugging and pulling at him managed to be both at once. Their forms slipped and shifted before his eyes from heavenly to hideous in less than the blink of an eye. One instant delicate fingers caressed his face and body, the next the same fingers were harsh claws nipping and pinching his flesh. The sensations were appalling, but it was their words that stung and bit at his core.

“Pirate and thief…” “…betrayer and oath breaker…” “murderer and patricide…” “COWARD!”

The last was screeched by all three hags in unison and Killian shook the hands free from his face as he spat;

“I am no coward!”

The three cackled at him, distain ringing in every note. The youngest looking of the three ran a finger down his cheek and leaned in close to him. Killian grimaced at the sweet rotten reek of her breath as she spoke.

“But we can see it, clear as day. Let me show you.”

A clawed hand plunged into his chest and Killian bit back the cry of familiar pain as his heart was torn free. Never in a million years would he have believed he’d be grateful his heart was not in his chest. The torment of the hag’s words dimmed as his heart beat before his eyes. There was an echo of surprise in his mind as he saw it wasn’t a coal black lump in the hag’s hand, but a vibrant red living heart.

“No Sister. Put it back…” “…he’ll need it in place…” “…to truly feel our lessons.”

“Take them to heart, one might say.” 

Hades quip was not well received by his Queen. Persephone gave Hades a tight lipped frown of disgust and turned her face from him. His jaw clenched and his eyes darkened, but with a sigh he spoke to the Erinyes;

“Take him away; My Queen should not bear witness to your sport.”

The three Erinyes screamed in twisted delight and in a whirl smoke they spirited Killian away from the throne room. An icy silence descended over the room. Finally Hades spoke;

“His sins fill scrolls and scrolls, yet you doubt the punishment he has earned?”

Persephone raised her warm honey eyes to meet his cold black ones.

“He died a hero.”

Hades snorted and rose to his feet.

“The last act of a coward to afeard of the power he had unleashed into the world. If anything that increases the torment he is due.”

“In your eyes, perhaps.”

He swung around to tower over his Queen.

“In this realm what I see is fact.”

Persephone inclined her head in a small nod as a smile played at the corners of her mouth.

“There are other realms, my King and in at least one Killian Jones is a hero.”

Hades threw his hands in the air and turned on his heel away from the infuriating sight of his Queen.

“You think that the heroes of Storybrooke will risk their hides to rescue the one handed pirate?”

“Yes.”

The simple honesty of her answer caused Hades to growl in frustration.

“Why?”

“He is loved.”

The room shook as Hades’ rage earthed itself in the very stone. He clenched his fists and inhaled deeply. Slowly the room stilled, but the current of his fury was still present in his voice when he spoke.

“Even if they come, by the time the Erinyes had played with him there will be nothing left to save.”

Persephone rose gracefully to her feet and smoothed her toga.

“They are coming my King and Killian Jones will leave this place.”

Heedless of his screams of rage she turned her back on him and left the room to his fury.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger Warnings**  
>  Torture  
> Talk of drowning  
> Mentions of blood

His heart was rammed back into his chest and the shock of it sent Killian sprawling on his back. He lay gasping for breath staring at the sky above him. Wait, sky? He rolled to his front and dry sand slithered under him as he pushed himself to his knees. He was on a sand bar, a circle of land, barely ten feet across, in what appeared to be an endless ocean.

“Okay. Not quite what I was expecting.”

The sea around him began to roll and boil. He didn’t move. Where could he have gone? From the spitting foam three figures rose, the Erinyes flowed from the seething waves and floated above the water. Their shroud-like robes billowed in a gale Killian couldn’t feel or hear. At least their forms were steady, each of the three a beauty to behold.

He licked his dry lips.

“Ladies. Whatever you have in mind for me, can we get on with it?”

“Such impatience…” “…from one who has run for…” “…so many years.” “Are you…” “…now prepared to confront your…” “…many sins?”

Killian raised his chin and clenched his jaw. The anticipation of his fate was torture in itself, but he wouldn’t beg for them to get down to business. Goading them into was a different kettle of fish.

“Well, if you wenches need more time to prepare for me,” he rose to his feet with a swagger, “I know I’m quite the handful.”

Their faces contorted into hideous masks of rot and decay. Their rage hit him like a wave, but he took small comfort in the fact they could be provoked. A pressure point like that might be useful at some point. The masks of beauty returned quickly and Killian did not like the smug grins that curled their lips.

“Appropriate term, handful…” “…since you so kindly wear the tokens…” “…off your evils on your fingers.”

His right hand was force from his side. It trembled, palm down in front of him as he fought against the control they were exerting.

“Each ring a…” “…sin. Shame you don’t have enough fingers for them all, but we…” “…can fix that.”

Killian screamed as each ring burned hot on his fingers. He was distracted from the smell of his own singeing flesh by the sight of new rings appearing. Signet and sovereign, jewelled and plain, delicate and heavy, each ring was unique and it dawned on him he was being bound in a pirate’s hoard of jewellery. Snakelike the new rings formed a chain, linking to the old before resting against his clothes and burning them away. The forging chain twisted up his arm and across his back. It twined itself around his chest and kept growing, link by link, crossing itself, loop upon loop, until it wrapped around his left arm, the final link welding itself to the tip of his hook.

His jacket and shirt in smoking tatters, Killian fell to his knees under the weight of the chain wrapped about his arms and torso. He was gasping from the pain and each rise and fall of his chest rubbed the still hot metal against the raw burns on his skin.

His three tormentors drifted closer, bringing the tide with them. The bubbling water was only a foot and a half away from him now. The weight of his chains wouldn’t let his rise to his feet. The sudden prospect of drowning gripped his chest tight and made his breath stutter in his throat.

“Where shall we start…” “sisters? Shall it be an old…” “…crime, or a new?”

The three were circling him, riding on the waves at their feet. Killian cursed himself as he flinched from their clawed fingers. He despised himself for showing weakness even in this extreme, but he couldn’t control the cringing of his body each time one of the hags brushed a finger across his chains.

“THIS ONE!”

The glee in the combined voices was terrible to hear. The pain that came as they touched their fingers to one of the rings was worse. Killian howled in agony.

_This one! The man called you One-Handed Jones. A fair description of you, but your rage at him was fatal. You killed him because his jibe made you fearful others would mock you. That fear rules your heart, always has.”_

The searing pain subsided to a dull throb and Kilian sagged forward choking for breath. He looked down at the ring against his arm and watched as it turned from gold to black. The flaming heat cooled rapidly. The temperature of this one link carried on decreasing until the icy burn of it was as intense as its former heat. The physical pain paled in comparison to the emotions rushing through his blood. He had endured every moment of the man’s death. His own anger, bile and fear coupled with the dying man’s terror had become a whirlpool dragging him deeper into the abyss. 

The Erinyes were circling again, the rising water now covered their feet, but did not to impede their movements, their robes still twisting and writhing in the non-existent gale.

“THIS ONE!”

Killian screamed again.

The tide rose a little more as each ring turned black. Each time the maelstrom of emotion would drop Killian back into awareness of his chained body choking for air. After a dozen or so links Killian drew in a lungful of brine as he gasped for breath. Spluttering and coughing he forced himself as upright as he could against the weight of the chains that kept him on his knees. His screaming muscles complained, but he could just keep his head above water. Drowning was a fear he shared with all sailors. No man who lived by the tides wanted to die by them.

“Darkness falls sisters time…” “..to let him consider his sins…” “…worry not Killian Jones we will…” “…be back come the turn of the tide…” “…so many more links…” “…to explore.”

The Erinyes sank beneath the waves. Alone Killian had nothing but time to think. Beneath unfamiliar stars he considered the sins the hags had forced him to face. Fear rose thick in his chest. He knew that these were not the deepest, nor darkest in his history of evil. The worst was yet to come. He added his own salt to the inky brine around him as tears slid down his face.

And so it went on. For days and days, if such a measure of time meant anything here. At dawn the tide had ebbed to its low-water and the hags would return. By dusk the waters reached his chin and he was left alone with his pain. The sailor in him observed this was a bloody strange sea. Killian considered the thought. It was the only part of his internal monologue not screaming at him, or weeping in agony.

He’d relived the deaths of Liam and Milah; relived the murder of Rufio and the other horrors he’d committed while sailing in Neverland. He’d watched himself kill his father in cold blooded rage. Every man he’d slain, every oath he’d broken, every hurt he’d caused. There was only one gold link left in the chain now and that lay directly over his heart. It was obvious whose pain he was going to suffer now. Emma.

Killian had kept her from his thoughts, not wanting to taint her by even thinking of her in this hell. As the hags rose from the boiling waters this dawn he knew that he could no longer protect his memory of her. 

He grimaced as he struggled to raise his hand to cover that final link. Every burn on his skin crack open and bled anew at his movements, but he forced himself to reach his goal. He wormed his thumb into the link and folded his throbbing fingers around it, sealing it in his fist, in an attempt to protect this symbol of her. Her name escaped as a whisper from his cracked lips.

“Emma.”

The Erinyes cackled and began circling him. They didn’t try to touch the link, but hissed vile lies in his ears as the passed him.

“Do you think your darling Emma will be able to forgive you for killing your father?”

“She spent so many, long lonely years without knowing her own papa.”

“You had the chance to reconnect with yours and you chose to do that on the point of a dagger.”

“She knows what manner of man you are.”

“She’s known from the start.”

“Left you chained at the mercy of a giant rather than trust you.”

“Chose Baelfire over you.”

“He was the man she deserved.”

“How could she love a pirate?”

“She is the Saviour, how could she love a man who embraces the Darkness every chance he gets?”

“Who is too weak to resist?”

Killian face was awash with tears. His hand was bleeding freely where the last link, Emma’s link, was biting into his flesh.

“She loves me.”

The words were soft, but caused more cackling from the hags.

“Are you sure?”

“She can scarcely bring herself to say the words.”

“Unless it’s to manipulate you.”

“She’s using you.”

“All this time using you.”

“Couldn’t wait to run you through.”

“NO!”

Killian's cry was one of pure anguish and despair, but there was doubt as well in his cracked voice. Ever so slightly his grip loosened on the golden link.

“Yes, she was glad to get you out of her life.”

“She has abandoned you.”

“As everyone does.”

“Because you are weak and worthless.”

His hand dropped from the link. The chain that had bound him evaporated into smoke and he sagged forward only just stopping himself from falling face down on the sand. Free of its hold Killian curled into a ball, his body wracked by tremors and sobs.

Hades walked across the waves to the miserable spit of land. The Erinyes stood aside as the King of the Underworld considered the broke shell of a man weeping at his feet.

“You broke him and just in time. The heroes have crossed the Styx and are demanding an audience.”

“Will you…” “…let them…” “…take him?”

Hades laughed and waved his hand. The sea and island melted away becoming a mist shrouded plain of shattered rocks.

“I see nothing here for them to save.”


	3. Chapter 3

As the Ferryman’s boat bumped against the dock everyone breathed out. They disembarked in silence and watched as the boat retreated into the mist. Robin cleared his throat.

“Since we are all thinking it, shall one of us get it out of the way and say it?”

The look shared by everyone suggested no one was willing to voice the obvious, so Henry gave a one shoulder shrug and said clearly;

“That was easier than I thought it would be.”

He got matched worried looks from his Moms and Grandma. He sighed.

“Robin was right we were all thinking it. It’s impressive that we made it, after all people are dying to get in here.”

Charming and Robin each smothered a chuckle, even that repressed joy sounded wrong here. Rumple gave Henry a smile and clapped him on the shoulder.

“You get that humour from your father.”

Emma eyed Rumple carefully; she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him, which if she used her magic would be a fair distance. There was something off about him. He didn’t need to act the good guy here, not with Belle safely in Storybrooke. He met her eye and for a second she saw something familiar that made her think of Killian. She supposed that wasn’t surprising, Killian was all she had been thinking about since… Emma rolled her shoulders and forced the memories away.

“Come on. We’ve got my pirate to save.”

There was a pause during which everyone looked around the featureless bank they had landed on.

“Which way do we go?”

Rumple shot his cuffs and gave the group of heroes a fake cheery smile.

“I believe directions are my job,” he pointed in ahead of them, “Let’s hurry shall we? I for one would like to spend as little time here as possible.”

Emma took point with Rumple and Henry, followed by her parents then Regina and Robin. By unspoken agreement they travelled in a close group. They’d not encounter a soul yet, but there were shapes in the fog.

“So what am I going to face to get Killian back?”

Emma’s words to Rumple were soft, but echoed in the stillness around them.

“Hades is often willing to make deals. They are heavily weighted in his favour and pointing that out will only anger him.”

Emma licked her lips and gave a curt nod.

“I very made deals with you and come out on top.”

“As much as it pains me to admit Miss Swan, Hades makes me look like a second hand car sales man.”

Emma threw Rumple a look of disbelief. Henry took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Don’t worry Mom. I know you can do this.”

Emma gave him a faint smile and squeezed his hand in return. She wished he’d stayed in Storybrooke out of harm’s way, but he’d refused with a stubbornness she recognized as so very like her own. She’d looked to Regina for help, but only received a shrug. Their boy was growing up and he was the Author, if he said he needed to be here then what could they do?

The fog in front of them cleared and Emma heard Snow gasp in surprise. Emma wasn’t the only one in the group to tense ready for a fight, but Rumple held up a hand to halt any attack.

“These are Shades. They are harmless.”

The figures wandered aimlessly to and fro, their eyes empty of any thought or feeling that they may have had as living humans.

“They’ve drunk the waters of the Lethe.”

“That’s correct Henry. The River of Forgetfulness, a balm of sorts for the souls here.”

Snow reached out tentatively for Emma’s arm.

“Emma if Hook has drunk those waters there may be no way to save him.”

Emma shrugged free of her mother’s hand.

“The only way this ends is with Killian, whole and back in Storybrooke with us all. If you’re not on board with that you should have stayed behind.”

Emma turned away and Snow tried to stop her, but Charming gently pulled her back.

“It’s okay Snow,” he murmured in her ear before raising his voice, “We are with you, Emma, all the way.”

Emma nodded her mouth set in a hard line and began edging her way through the shambling husks of humanity. Snow raised her face to Charming, worry and concern etched across her features. He took her face between his hands as he said;

“That is the same determination I have had every time I have been separated from you. I have always found you. Now it’s time to help our daughter do what this family always does for the ones we love.”

Snow pressed a quick kiss to his lips and took his hand. Together they followed Emma. Robin took Regina’s hand.

“Has anyone ever told you this family is crazy?”

Regina dug his side with her elbow.

“It’s your family too.”

Robin hummed and tilted his head.

“Ah, I knew there was a reason I fit in so well.”

They shared a grin and set off after the others. Rumple cocked an eyebrow at Henry.

“Do we have to have a touching family moment as well?”

His grandson gave him a curious look.

“Nah, we’re good.”

Rumple rolled his eyes and mouthed a ‘Thank you’ for the good sense of his grandson.

 

The journey to the throne room was uneventfully and swift. Only Rumple found that disconcerting. He caught up to Emma and stopped her before she opened the bronze door that stood between them and the throne room of the Underworld.

“Whatever you do, think before you accept any offer he makes. You are dealing with Hades, a god, on his home turf. If you want us to get out of here alive do not say ‘I will pay any price’. Do you understand me?”

Emma stared at him.

“I get it. We’re in the big league now. Done with the pep talk coach?”

She pulled free of his restraining hand and shoved open the door. The bronze hinges scream but allowed the door to swing inwards. Rumple sighed as he watched Emma march inside, her parents and Henry close on her heels. To no one in particular he said;

“We all going to die.”

“At least we’re in the right place for it.”

Rumple sneered at Robin’s quip and wonder how it was heroes always won. It certainly wasn’t from using their brains. Robin and Regina held their ground until, with a put upon sigh Rumple walked through the door way before them.

The thrones on the dais were empty. Emma took a deep breath as if she was getting ready to shout.

“Hush. Let the lord and master of this realm enter in his own time.”

The room shook and a thick cloud of grey smoke shrouded the thrones. A voice like the slamming of coffin lids spoke from the swirling darkness.

“Wise counsel, Rumplestiltskin.”

The smoke sank to the floor where it lurked and twisted. As the smoke dropped to the floor it revealed the King and his Queen seated on the thrones. Rumple surprised everyone by making a low bow. He turned his head enough to hiss from the corner of his mouth.

“King.”

The rest of the group quickly caught his meaning and followed suit with curtsies and bows, except Emma. Hades met her glare and simply chose to ignore her lack of respect for his station. He let his gaze slip from Emma and rove over the rest of the group.

“The heroes from the kingdom of Maine. Come to beg for the return of Killian Jones.”

“I don’t intend to beg. I want Killian to return with us. Alive and safe.”

Hades let the tension spin out for a long, long moment.

“And if I refuse?”

Emma’s hands rose ready to throw magic at him. Nothing happened. She frowned at her impotent hands and threw an enquiring look at Regina and Rumple. Regina raised her hand only to ball it into a fist in frustration. Rumple didn’t even try. Hades’ face stretched into a rictus grin.

“A simple binding that will break when you leave, which will be now. I am in no mood to grant the impertinent requests of heroes.”

Emma’s jaw clenched and she stepped forward, but was stopped in her tracks by Persephone slowly shaking her head. 

Persephone rose from her throne and moved to kneel before her husband in a posture of supplication. Hades’ thin, blue skin creased into a deep frown.

“What is this?”

“I beg a boon my lord husband. Let Killian Jones return alive to the realm of the living.”

“Why do you ask this favour for the pirate?”

She raised her warm honey eyes to his, her voice as gentle as a summer breeze as she said;

“I ask not for the pirate, but for the woman of light who loves him in spite of the darkness in his soul.” 

Hades stiffened and in the distance came the rumble of his realm reacting to his emotion. There was no clue on his deathly face as to what that emotion might be. He rose swiftly to his feet. Persephone tilted her head back on her slender neck to maintain eye contact with him. Nobody dared to breathe for a moment as the two rulers reached a silent concord. Hades bowed his head slightly and reached down to take the hands of his queen. He helped her to her feet and seated her back on her throne with the reference of an attendant knight. Any softness in his gestures vanished as he rounded on the heroes.

“I shall grant my Queen’s request. If Killian Jones wishes to leave my realm he may return as a living breathing soul with the rest of you to your kingdom of Maine.”

The King of the Underworld waved a hand and to the left of the dais a rock slid aside leaving a yawning tunnel mouth open in its wake.

“You will find him at the end of the passage. He must not be taken against his will.”

Emma mouthed her thanks to Persephone as she hurried towards Killian. The rest bowed to the thrones and followed after her. Snow and Charming hurried Henry from the presence of Hades, since for reasons best known to himself the kid tried to linger. A few yards down the tunnel Regina caught Rumple’s arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m a little concerned about his terms. I can think of half a dozen loopholes that will mean this won’t end as Miss Swan hopes.”

Regina gave him a smirk that he hadn’t seen since her Evil Queen days.

“Good job we have you here to guide us safely through the pitfalls of contract law.”

“And exactly what is it in for me to risk incurring the wrath of Hades?”

A voice from by his ear said;

“Not having to remove my boot from your arse for a start.”

Robin’s tone was almost friendly, but his eyes were hard. Regina leant in close to Rumple’s face.

“And you don’t even want to know where I’ll put my boot if you don’t apply every ounce of your grey matter to getting us all home safe and sound.”

Rumple held his hands up in grudging defeat.

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you that this could get ugly.”

“Noted.”


	4. Chapter 4

The stragglers found Snow, Charming and Henry stood on the threshold of an open doorway. Snow was almost in tears as Charming held her close to his side, a nauseous look on his face. Snow shook her head in answer to Regina’s unspoken enquiry. Robin instinctively grasped Regina’s hand. Henry swallowed hard and on the second attempt managed to ask in a hoarse whisper;

“Grandfather, how much faster does time run here?”

Rumple looked into the eyes of his grandson and saw the unspilled tears held back by a strength he hadn’t known the lad possessed. 

“Time here runs at Hades whim,” he pushed forward and looked beyond the arched opening, the sight beyond turned his stomach.

“I'd say what was only a day for us was at least a few months for Hook.”

He back away from the sight of his most persistent foe huddled in a corner rocking back and forth in blank eyed terror. Miss Swan was on her knees at Hook’s side her hand hovering in mid-air as she hesitated to touch her true love. Rumple leaned back against the rough stone wall and took a deep breath. As he raised his eyes he caught Henry regarding him with a strange look in his eyes. The lad blinked it away and took a shuddering breath.

“Okay, everyone back off down the corridor a bit. Mom is going to need a bit of time to get through to Killian and she doesn’t need a pitying audience. That won’t break the terms of the deal will it?”

Rumple knew the question was directed at him, but Henry did quite meet his eyes as he asked it. He stamped down on his curiosity over Henry’s odd behaviour and replayed Hades’ words in his mind.

“We’ve got time. Just remember quicker is better.”

Henry nodded and shooed everyone away. Regina half turned to retreat as instructed, but paused,

“What are you going to do, Henry?”

“I just need to tell Mom what she’s got to do. Then I’ll be right back.”

Without a pause Henry stepped through the arch and out of sight. Reluctantly the rest moved a short distance down the corridor.

Henry gently, but firmly placed his hand on his Mom’s shoulder. He wasn’t surprised to find that she was trembling. She gave a sniffle and turned her head to face him.

“Henry.”

“Mom. Start with True Love’s Kiss, and then get ready to talk him round. It’s not going to be easy, but you can do this.”

She covered his hand with her own.

“You believe in me.”

“Yeah and in this case I know you’re going to make this happen.”

Emma frowned a little at his definition, but before she could question him, he gave her shoulder a brief squeeze and left. She edged closer to Killian and fresh tears trickled down her face as he didn’t react to her. Killian always reached for her.

“Okay start with a kiss. We’re good at that, aren’t we?"

She caught his face in her hands and tilted his unresisting head up towards her. Her tongue darted quickly across her lips as she closed the physical distance that separated them. Their lips touched and she felt the familiar surge of magic that accompanied True Love’s Kiss. For the longest moment of her life Killian didn’t move. She sighed against his mouth as suddenly he was kissing her back. She wasn’t ready for his hand to roughly shove her away from him. She toppled backwards.

“No. No, no, no, no. Can’t be Emma. Not here,” Killian’s hand flew to his temple and he started thumping his fist against his temple, “Not Emma. Emma wouldn’t come for me. She won’t come. Not for me. Not ever for me.”

Emma surged forwards and grabbed his wrist.

“Killian! Killian. It is me. It is really me. I’m here.” 

His shoulders slumped and she was able to pull his hand to her lips.

“Emma?”

She hadn’t been aware that her eyes had closed, but at the sound of her name they slammed open and she found her Killian staring back at her. His sea blue eyes still looked a little glazed, but this was a step in the right direction.

“It’s me Killian. I’m here for you.”

He blinked a few times as if trying to clear his head, then his eyes widened in panic and he tried to scramble away from her, his shoulder blades scraping on the hard rock behind him. He tore his hand from hers and wrapped his arms across his chest. He was trying to make himself smaller; he was trying to hide from her.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came for you Killian. I swore I would.”

He looked like a trapped animal, his eyes darting around the room looking for escape all while he was trying to shrink further back into his corner.

“Why would you do that? Why would you come here for me?”

Slowly Emma extended her hand and tenderly placed it over his.

“I can’t, I won’t live without you Killian. I love you.”

“No. No. You don’t love me, you can’t. Nobody can love me I’m weak. I’m a coward.”

Emma’s heart lurched to her him speak such lies.

“That kiss, just now, that was a True Love Kiss; our true love, Killian.”

He frowned in puzzlement and ran his tongue over his bottom lip. She gently wrapped her fingers around his hand and held on tight. He returned the grip and pulled her hand to his face.

Emma thought she got through to him as he rubbed the back of her hand across his cheek. His beard was softer and fuller than his habitual scruff and she felt sick as she tried to work out how long his time here had been for him. He laid a soft kiss on her knuckles and looked up into her eyes. Then he let go of her hand.

“You have to leave, Swan. You shouldn’t be here.”

“We’re going to go together, back to Storybrooke, the two of us.”

A tear dripped from his dark lashes as he shook his head.

“I died to keep you away from this place. It’s the only brave thing I’ve ever done in my pathetic existence. Please don’t take that away from me.”

“Coming back with me won’t change what you did.”

“This is where I deserve to be, love. So many rings.”

Emma brow creased in confusion, she didn’t understand what he was talking about. What rings? He was slipping away from her. Desperately Emma tried to think of something to persuade him to leave this nightmare willingly.

“You want to stay here?” Killian nodded, “Okay, then I stay here too.”

Killian raised his head so fast he banged his skull against the wall behind him.

“You can’t do that!”

“My place is by your side, so if you stay, I stay.”

The frantic gleam of panic was back in his eyes, his breathing ragged and fast.

“No. Not a chance, Swan. You wouldn’t have come here on your own. Your parents are somewhere nearby. I’ll yell for them and they’ll take you…take you home. Away from here, away from me.”

“You really don’t want to be with me?”

“No. I d-don’t w-want y-you. Go. Go!”

Emma bowed her head and swallowed hard against the sobs that were rising in her throat. When she raised her head Killian wouldn’t even look at her. He was shaking. Emma drew in a shaky breath and rose to her feet. Killian cringed as she stood over him. Her voice was broken and wracked with sorrow as she said;

“I go, but this stays here, with you.”

She hardly felt it when she thrust her hand into her chest. She bent down and placed her beating red heart into his lax hand. It took a monumental effort not to kiss his forehead before she left the man she loved alone in his cell.

She walked on unsteady feet towards her family, the tears she had shed drying stiff on her face. Emma had almost reached them when Killian shouted.

“Emma! Stop!”

By his command she halted mid-step. 

“Oh Gods. I’m sorry I didn’t mean…I’m so sorry.”

Trembling like a leaf in a gale Killian stepped from behind her. Emma watched the horror dawn across the faces of her parents and friends as they saw her heart in Killian’s hand. He was cradling it against his chest, his hook held up to defend it. He paid no heed to the stunned audience of her, their, nearest and dearest. He faced her and she watched as he licked his cracked lips. He screwed his eyes and shut Emma realised his mouth was framing unspoken words. Whatever he wanted to say he was trying to frame it as a request, not an order she would have to follow. Squinting at her in concentration he hesitantly asked;

“Emma, will you put this back if I come with you?”

She nodded, not trusting her words to come out as a sob.

“Then, please…”

Killian’s words trailed off and he shuffled closer to her and gingerly held her heart out. They were standing so close that his hand barely moved from his chest. He moved his hook out of her way and nervously scratched behind his ear with the point. It was such a normal gesture Emma was sure she saw her heart swell with love as it rested in his palm. She picked it up and grabbed Killian’s hand; he winced a little at her touch, but didn’t pull away. Emma held his hand over hers and pushed her heart back into her chest. Killian gave a shuddering sigh and for the first time since she’d found him a ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“You came for me.”

“I will always come for you.”

There was a collection of relieved sounds from the onlookers and for the first time Killian became aware of the others. Emma felt his fear as he edged closer to her side. She was so proud that it was Henry who knew exactly what to say;

“It takes a fellowship to rescue a hero like you Killian.”

Killian managed a shaky smile and stuttered;

“Th-thanks mate.”

Regina clapped her hands together.

“Right let’s get the hell,” she rolled her eyes and sighed, “out of hell.” She finished a little lamely. 

“That is the best idea anyone has had all day.”


	5. Chapter 5

The return journey to the Styx was shaky, literally. The whole of the underworld was quaking; loose rocks and masonry tumbled from the walls around them. The mist and fog bubbled as rocks plunged into it and was sucked away as the ground split. More than once they had to leap over cracks that opened in the ground they ran across.

“What’s happening?”

Charming had to shout his question over the echoes of a rumbling crash from a particularly large rock slide that had almost crushed Robin. The archer would have been a pancake, if it hadn’t have been for Henry grabbing his arm and dragging him forward. Rumple was certain that Henry had grabbed him before the rock slide threatened him. Now, how could the lad have known that was coming? Rumple’s head twitched as he shook away his internal monologue and shouted his response over another earth trembling roar.

“It’s Hades! This realm reacts to him. I think he’s a little ticked off with us.”

Regina’s body language may have been speaking nothing but relief as she clung to Henry and Robin, but the ire was plain in her voice as she shouted back;

“We kept to his deal!”

“And you think he’s happy about that?”

Rumple led the way as the band of heroes continued their escape.

The river and the ferry were in sight when Killian stumbled. Emma hadn’t let go of his hand since he agreed to come with them. She supported him as he regained his footing and saw the pain on his face.

“What is it?”

“M-My chest.”

Emma carefully undid the buttons on his shirt and Killian wondered when and how his clothes came to be intact. Hadn’t the rings burnt them away? What the rings hadn’t burnt away the improbable tide had taken. He started shaking at the memory of the chain that bound him and tried to pull away from Emma’s tender touch. He flinched as Emma pushed his shirt open. He wasn’t brave enough to look down and see what made her yell;

“RUMPLESTILTSKIN!”

Rumple span on his heel at the sound of his name. Looking over the heads of Charming and Snow he saw Emma was holding Hook’s shirt open to reveal the scratch above his heart. As Rumple watched blood began to bead and swell from the slowly growing wound. It was Henry’s voice that broke the panicked silence that somehow managed to deaden the cacophony around them. 

“Everyone stop! We need to get away from the river!”

Even as the others hurried back to them Killian winced. A slice began to form on the left side of his neck. Emma roughly pushed him a few paces away from the river. The blood from the two wounds evaporated, leaving only pink scars in their wake.

Charming and Robin rushed to support Killian as he slumped heavily on to Emma. At their touch Killian whimpered and dropped to the floor, curling into a ball, shying from the sight of the heroes that stood over him. Emma arched over him protectively. The sheer force of her glare caused the two men to back away. They didn’t get far. Henry was right behind the pushing them away from the river.

“Back off, but that way! Mom! Grandma! Get away from the river!”

Rumple watched Snow and Regina obey Henry’s instruction, running to put themselves on the far side of Hook; further into hell and further from escape. Rumple balked as he found himself traitorous feet moved him away from the Styx, every step irritating him. He wanted to get out of here now. He hadn’t wanted to come in the first place. So why did we Dearie? We could have told Swan we couldn’t, wouldn’t help her. Why did we come?

“NOW!”

Charming and Robin leapt at Rumple. As they collided with him they twisted and dragged him to the floor, pinning him further from the river; further from escape for this hellish place. He struggled and tried to fight, but with his magic bound he was a poor opponent. Charming and Robin both outweighed him, but it wasn’t the two warriors that subdued him. It was the punch to his jaw from Henry that left him seeing stars and before the blackness of unconsciousness took him a familiar voice sounded in his head, or possibly escaped his lips.

He knows, Dearie. How does he know?

**Author's Note:**

> ME: But the mid season finale was so painful. I want to write happy fluffy smut.  
> MUSE: Tough luck have an angsty plot bunny.
> 
> And that is basically how this happened. Sorry.


End file.
